Food Force
Anyone who is 60 years or older and facing challenges getting groceries due to financial, physical, or other hardships (e.g. logistical) may enroll. While there are limits to the number of individuals who can be registered at any one time, IVCG is proud to serve well over 150 seniors with periodic free groceries.
Program Logistics
Registration to become a senior beneficiary of the IVCG-Food Force program follows the same process as those registering for the IVCG-Transportation Plus program.
After registration is complete, enrolled seniors will be added to one of four "groups" based on their residential location. Volunteers call those who are coming "up" for groceries on the next Saturday. Calls are made on Wednesday and Thursday. If the volunteer callers are unable to reach you (the registered senior), the delivery will be skipped for that cycle and you'll wait until the next schedule rotation. The period between receiving free groceries is typically 4-5 weeks. While IVCG recognizes this does not satisfy the grocery needs of our neighbors, it can be a vital support option and one that reduces the monthly strain from trying to purchase groceries.
Volunteer drivers made the deliveries on Saturday of each week. Those volunteers visit approximately 10 seniors during the delivery day and will sign up for various Saturday "shifts" based on their availability.
In addition to weekly deliveries, there's a special "pick-up" program known as "Groceries at the Garden". This alternative option serves seniors in the Newhallville area of Hamden/New Haven. Participating seniors visit IVCG at the Winnett Food Forest (corner of Putnam Ave and Winnett St) every two weeks. This program provides greater frequency of free groceries and offers additional opportunities to meet others while exploring and sharing information (and produce) associated with the garden.
Locate the online Client Intake Survey here.